Animal Rights

Man Caught on Video Abusing Dog, Calls Witness 'N-Word' for Filming

Lindsey Cooks, who is African-American, was standing at a bus stop with his son when he filmed Robert Martin allegedly abusing his dog in a Lancaster, Calif., neighborhood last Friday.

Cooks' cell phone video (below) shows a man, not wearing a shirt, pulling his dog up into the air by the pet's leash, grabbing the canine and then slamming the animal down on a residential street.

“I told him, ‘That’s cruelty to animals,’ and then he said, ‘Shut up!’ and the n-word,” Cooks told The AV Times. “He took the dog up and swung the dog on his head… so I called the police.”

Lt. Martinez, of the Lancaster Sheriff’s Station, told The AV Times, “We responded to a call about cruelty to animals, and we were shown the tape, which obviously substantiated that charge."

“I’m a human being, you know?” Cooks told KTLA. “I couldn’t see not even a human being being treated like that, especially a dog that can’t defend itself, a little dog, so I had to do something.”

Lancaster County Sheriff deputies arrested Martin for felony animal cruelty. His 6-month-old pitbull mix "Daisy" was rescued by the Los Angeles County Department of Animal Care and Control, which said the pooch was not seriously injured.

Martin pleaded not guilty to the charge and will appear in court on Aug. 22.

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